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Simon Redman
Simon Redman (born 05/06/1978 in Brisbane, Australia) is a retired Australian racing driver known for winning the first F1RWRS Bavarian Grand Prix. He decided to retire after the 2011 F1RWRS season after spending his entire F1RWRS career with Kamaha Motorsports. He is also an accomplished sports car driver and is thought to be one of the best drivers never to compete in a Formula 1 race. Early Career Redman began his career racing in Formula Ford at the age of fifteen. He drove in Formula Ford for two years, directly competing against future rival Rhys Davies. Redman would win the the championship but he was overshadowed by Davies (who finished runner-up despite missing the first third of the season). Redman went to Australian Formula 3, driving for the AGK team. Redman finished fifth and fourth in his two years of competition. However, his rival Rhys Davies won the championship in both years and went to F3000 but Redman would head to the Australian Drivers Championship, a step backwards on the driving ladder. Although Redman went on to win the 1997 championship, he did not get many offers from top-flight F3000 teams. He received offers from the American Star Mazda Championship. Redman became the first non-American driver to win the championship in 1998 and he gained some recognition at last. His F3000 career was brief (he would leave for a testing role midway through the year) but he took two victories and five podiums. His success caught the eye of the new BAR team and he was drafted in as a mid-season test driver halfway through the year. Formula One and Sports Cars Unlike his counterpart Rhys Davies, Redman failed to gain any traction in F1. He was retained as test driver for BAR for 2000 and 2001 but was dropped in 2002 in favor of Takuma Sato. Although he was linked to other drives, his only F1 involvement in 2002 was a brief appearance as Minardi's test driver. In 2002, he partnered with Adam Lewis, former F1 driver Mauro Baldi and fellow Australian Frank Zimmer to win the 24 Hours of Daytona. This one-off performance brought attention from the Rolex Sports Car Series and he was signed to Daran Lista Racing. He combined with Lewis, Baldi and Didier Theys to win the Daytona Prototype category in the 2002 Rolex Sports Car Series season. He returned for 2003 (this time with Lewis, Olivier Beretta and Baldi) and finished second in the championship. His sports car performances led him to Le Mans where he drove for Courage Compétition. His car stopped after only three hours but he would be a Le Mans stalwart for years to come. At the end of 2003, Redman received offers from the American Le Mans Series for 2004 and he joined Dyson Racing in 2004. Redman also made several one-off races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series throughout the season. ALMS and F1 Return Redman continued his success in the American sports car circuit by coming second in the 2004 ALMS season. Redman's transition from the Daytona Protoypes to the Le Mans Prototypes was seamless as he won two races (partnered with Butch Leitzinger). Redman also came third in the 12 Hours of Sebring, again with Lewis and Baldi. His success in ALMS drew the attention of Toyota who signed him as test driver for 2005. Many questioned Redman's decision to leave sports cars while at the top of his game. He missed the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans due to testing duties. However, Toyota dropped him after 2005, claiming that Redman did not help with the development of the car. He returned to ALMS for 2006, joining the Audi America team. He won the championship with Allan McNish in 2006, only missing out on one victory that season. He and McNish won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Eric van de Poele. He also recorded his best Le Mans finish of his career so far, finishing in second with Audi Sport Team Joest. Redman was then persuaded to join the European Le Mans Series with Peugot. European Struggles and Australian Return Redman's arrival to the European Le Mans Series was one of the most talked about stories of 2007. However, 2007 was a flop for Redman as his Peugot outfit failed to win a race all year. Redman was canned by Peugot after 2007 and Audi refused to take him back. The unemployed Redman decided to go back to his native Australia to race in V8 Supercars. Redman was picked up by HSV Dealer Team. Redman continued his versatile career by winning the V8 round at Eastern Creek, only his second race of the year. Redman also had a controversial crash with rival Rhys Davies at the Gulf Air Desert 500 in Bahrain. HSV Dealer Team folded after 2008 and Redman was signed to Ford Performance Racing as direct competition to Davies. Redman would come sixth in the championship, taking one win. At the close of the 2009 season, Redman surprised everyone by announcing that he would be going to the F1RWRS. Redman said that he wanted a new challenge as he had never driven a race in a premier open-cockpit series. HE would debut for Kamaha Motorsport in the 2010 F1RWRS season. F1RWRS 2010 Simon Redman was held out of the first race in the F1RWRS history due to a case of pneumonia. However, he would be in for the 2010 F1RWRS Luxembourg Grand Prix, his first race. Redman was unspectacular throughout the season but he did beat teammate Kay Lon in the standings. Redman's best finish was a solid fifth place at the 2010 F1RWRS Belgian Grand Prix. Redman finished the season 13th in the Drivers' Standings. 2011 The 2011 F1RWRS season was a banner year for Redman. Redman won the first race of the season, the 2011 Bavarian Grand Prix. The win is still his only win of his F1RWRS career. After a fourth place at Hockenheim, Redman held the championship lead after two races. Redman remained in the top five until the seventh race of the season. The rest of the 2011 season was mixed for Redman. He took a sixth place at the 2011 Tasman Grand Prix and a fifth place at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. However, Redman also had a string of three DNPQs in a row late in the season and finished the Drivers' Championship in eleventh. Redman decided to retire from all forms of motor racing to focus on his family at the end of 2011. However, he would not stay out of racing for long, returning to Le Mans in 2012. Complete F1RWRS Results Category:Drivers Category:1978 births Category:Australian Drivers Category:F1RWRS Drivers